Booster pump



April 19, 1949 H. w. YocuM BOOSTER PUMP :5 sheets-sheet 1 Filed Feb. 6,1948 April 19, 1949.

Eiled Feb. 6, 194a H. w. YOcuM BOOSTER PUMP 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 H. W. YOCUMBOOSTER PUMP 1 April 19, 1949.

3 Sheets- Sheet 3 Filed Feb. 6, 1948 Patented Apr. 19, 1949 BOOSTER PUMPHarold W. Yocum, Wayne, Pa., assignor to Hale Fire Pump Company,Conshohocken, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Application February 6,1948, Serial No. 6,620

1 This invention relates to centrifugal fluid pumps and moreparticularly to a multi-stage pump designed for fire fighting apparatus.

-Modern fire fighting technique has evolved the I necessity for variabledelivery pumping equipment. For many fires a large volume of water atrelatively low pressure is required, whereas in other cases the abilityto obtain a spray at high pressure in small volume is desirable.Conventional fire apparatus pumps deliver large volumes of water atpressures of 100 to 150 pounds, reaching 300 to 400 pounds maximumpressure at small volumes. Pumps designed for 600 to 700 pounds highpressure spray are limited to relatively small volumes. The integraladdition of a. pump to boost the top pressures of conventional firepumps to 600 or 700 pounds provides a combina- 9 Claims. (01.103-106)tion able to operate at the high pressure spray range withoutsacrificing the large volume range so necessary to the majority offires. Fire fighting equipment as is well known, must be compact,readily adapted to installation on fire fighting vehicles, and it isalso essential that the control of the pumper be eifected quickly andefficiently.

A primary object of this invention, therefore, is to provide a pressurebooster pump for fire fighting purposes which is adapted to be attachedto centrifugal fire apparatus pumps of conventional pressure range, andwhich may be supplied to purchasers of such equipment as an'accessoryand which may be attached or detached with relatively littlemodification of the primary pumping unit.

A further object of this invention is to provide a multi-stage pump forfire fighting apparatus which has a two-stage pumping unit adapted to beoperated either in series or in parallel, and which in addition isprovided with a third stage or booster pump driven from the main pumpshaft whereby a relatively high pressure discharge may be obtained.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a compoundT-shaped two-stage centrifugal pump having opposite intake and dischargepas- ,sages forming the cross of the T, and a main pump shaft mounted ina housing which forms the stem of the T, the pump drive being locatedcentrally downward of the stem of the T so that a third pump or stagemay be connected to the main pump shaft at the base of the T through aclutch. The intake for the third stage pump is connected tothe-discharge manifold of the first and second-stage pumps so that thethird-stage may be selectively operated when the first two stages arerunning either in series or in parallel.

A still further object is to provide suitable controls and valves for athree-stage fire pump which are likewise adapted for optionalinstallation and use.

Further objects will be apparent from the specification and drawings inwhich: 7 I

Fig. 1 is a plan of a three-stage centrifugal pump constructed inaccordance with the invention;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged transverse section taken along the line 22 of Fig.1;

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal section taken along the line 3-3 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a longitudinal section of the primary pump structure along theline 4-4 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a sectional detail taken along the line 5-5 of Fig. 1; and iFig. 6 is a sectional detail taken along line 8- of Fig. 1. g

The inventioncomprises essentially the provision of a compact T shapedpump structure having an intake housing with diametrically opposite dualintake passages. A pair of centrifugal impellers are centrallypositioned in the housing so that the impeller shaft is at right-anglesto the passages. One of the transverse dual passages supplies fluid tothefirst impeller and the other transverse passage supplies fluid to thesecond impeller. The upper section of the impeller housing contains thedischarge passages for both impellers and is bolted to the intakehousing. The discharge passage from one impeller is adapted to connectto the intake passage of the opposite impeller by means of a manuallyoperated valve and this intake passage is provided with a pair of checkvalves which are open when the impellers are operated in parallel butwhich automatically close when the impellers are operated in series. Apair of intake manifolds are mounted diametrically opposite each of theextremities of the in-- take housing and face opposite sides of thevehicle so that the intake hose may be attached to either or both ofthese manifolds. Both the discharge and intake housings are bolted to astuning box housing which in turn is attached to a gear box connectingthe vehicle drive shaft to the pump or impeller shaft by means ofsuitable .n. A suitable packing is and adjustable gland ll preventfluidleakage as in conventional practice. The discharge housing Ila is boltedabove the intake housing II to form a unitary pump structure havinglower intake'passages connects ing at opposite'sides of the vehicle aswell as upper discharge passages also connecting at'opposite sides ofthe vehicle.

which meshes with gear 2L journaled on shaft 2! which in turn mesheswith a slidable gear 26 on splined drive shaft 21. Driving power fromthe vehicle engine is transmitted to shaft 21 through coupling 23.

The lower portion a of gear box 20 carries an annular ball bearing 29for drive shaft 21, and also carries a housing 30 in which the rearvehicle drive shaft 3| is'journaled by means of annular ball bearings32, 32. Shaft 3i is connected to the differential and rear wheels (notshown) of the vehicle by means of coupling 28' in the standard manner. Apriming pump 33 which may be of the gear type is also supported on gearbox 20a and is driven through shaft 34, coupling 35 and spur gears 36and 31. When gear 26 is moved axially on shaft 21 by means of yoke 33;it may be positioned to engage selectively gear 24 (as in Fig. 2). orgear 31 for operating pump 33, and in which position gears '24 and 26are disengaged. Further axial movement of gear 26 serves to engage dogs39 on hub 40 of shaft, permitting normal road operation of the vehiclewithout concurrent operation of the pumping unit. Yoke 38 is mounted ona shifting rod M (Fig. 1) which is axially slidable in housing 42 alsomounted on box 20. The priming pump 33 removes fluid from the primaryunit through pipe 43,valve 44 and connection 45 (Fig. 1). 1

Gear box 20 is so constructed that the booster pump housing may bebolted to the housing 20 with the pump shaft l5 adapted to drive thebooster pump directly and also so that the booster pump may be attachedwith a minimum of modification to the primary pumping unit if desired.Furthermore, the construction is such that the primary pump may readilybe supplied to a pur- 33 by means of annular ball bearings 30 and I Bothhousings II and Ila are connected to an intermediate or stumng 1 I 0 inwhich is mounted the booster pump shaft 32. Bearing is mounted directlyin a face 83 of housing 50 whereas bearing 6! is press-fitted into him34 keyed to the end of shaft 15 and retained thereon by means of nut 65.Annular ball bearing 22 is pressed onto a shoulder at the inner end ofhub 64, and the outer race of bearing 22 isfitted in a cup-shapedhousing 88 attached between gear box 20 and housing 50. The opposite endof hub 64 forms the female driving member of clutch 52 and'carries thedriving clutch discs 61. thus it will be seen that the inner end of.booster pump shaft 62 is journaled in bearing 6| which is in turncarried by hub 84, permitting relative motion of shafts i5 and 62 whenclutch 5,2 is disengaged. I

The booster pump casing proper 68, is mounted on housing .50 andencloses the booster pump impeller 69 keyed to shaft 62 andretained-thereon by means of nut". A suitable seal 'II is provided attheinbo'ard sideof impeller 69 and an intake flange i2 is attached tohousing 68 in axial alignmentqvith thec'enter of impeller 63.

Referring now to Figs. .1, 3-6, the construction andop'eration of theprimary pumping unit and its cooperation with the booster pump will bedescribed? The intake for theprimary or first and second stages of thepump is through either or both manifolds l1 and i2 which are arranged onopposite sides of the pump so that the hydrant hose may be connected ateither side of the vehicle. Manifolds H and i2 connect with intakechaser without the booster in the event that only a two-stage unit isdesired.

It will be understood that in general, the operation and drive of theprimary pump unit is conventional. Nevertheless, the compact and ruggeddesign of such a unit which may readily be converted to a three-stagepump, is an important feature of the invention. The primary pump,together with its operation as a single,

universal joint 58. Actuation of the clutch through shaft 5! isachievedin any suitable manner such as lever 59 attached to shaft 51.

The clutch assembly 52 is journaled-in housing from the side of thevehicle.

passage 14 for the second stage of the pump, but check valves l5, 15 areprovided between the manifolds H and I2 andthe second stage intakepassage 14 so that the first and second stages may be operated either inseries or in parallel.

When only the primary pumping unit is intended to be operated inparallel for large volume at low pressure, the booster pump isdisconnected by means of clutch 52 and Water is fed into both passages13 and I4 to the first and second stage impellers l3 and M respectively.The discharge passages from both the first and second stage pumps areshown in Fig. 1,' l8 designating the discharge passage from the firststage impeller l3, and I9 indicating the discharge passage from thesecond stage impeller I4. Passages I8 and i9 discharge into manifold andin order to provide a discharge outlet on either side of the vehicle,manifold 80 also communicates with a discharg passage 8! which ispositioned above the intake passage 14 as shown in Fig. l.

A by-pass valve 82 is positioned in the primary discharge passage 18 andserves to selectively connect this passage with the intake passage 14 bymeans of a by-pass 85 as shown in Fig. 5. For parallel operation of theprimary pumps, by-pass 85 is closed by means of valve 84 which isoperated by bell crank 86 and control rod 81 accessible The dischargefluid is permitted to flow directly through valve 84 into the extremity18a of the first stage discharge passage 18. It will be seen from Fig. 1that fluid discharged from both impellers l3 and I4 when valve 84 is setfor parallel operation passes into manifold 80 from whence it isdischarged through any or all of the couplings 88, 89, and 90 which arein turn respectively opened and closed by means of valves 9 I, 92, and93.

When series operation through the primary pump is required to provideincreased pressure in the primary pumping unit, valve 84 is turned sothat all the fluid discharged from impeller I3 is forced into the intakepassage 14 of impeller l4 through by-pass 85. This immediately causes anincreased pressure condition in passage I4, automatically closing checkvalves 15, 15 to prevent further ingress of fluid from manifolds H andII. In this way, all the intake fluid passes -to the first stageimpeller l3, thence through passages 19 and 85 to the second stageimpeller M, from whence it is discharged into manifold 80, throughpassage 19 in accordance with the arrows in Figs. 1 and 4. Y

-When further increased pressure'is desired, the booster pump may beengaged by means of clutch ""52 so that fluid under second stagepressure in manifold 80 is fed into the booster intake "12 throughtubing 94' which is connected to manifold 80 by means of elbow 95 (Fig,1). Conduit 96 r I the position of by-pass valve 84 so that all threestages may be in series with each other to provide maximum pressure or,if desired, the first two stages may be operated in parallel and thebooster pump also operated to provide an increased pressure above thepressure in manifold 89 but below the maximum series pressure. In

- this way, discharge hoses may be connected to the high pressure line96 as well as to one or more of the discharge connections 88, 89. Arelief valve 99 between manifold 80 and intake connec-- tion I I, isactuated by excessive pressure in manifold 89 through line I and aconventional valve actuating device ltl.

While the booster pump has been described in conjunction with atwo-stage primary pumping unit,'it will be understood that the samebooster may be applied to any primary pumping unit regardless of whetherthe primary unit consists of one or more stages and regardless ofwhether the primary unit may be operated in series or in a parallel. 1

I claim:

-1. A booster fire pump assembly comprising a housing having a, flangeadapted to mount on a to support the shaft for independent rotation withrespect to the driving member.

. 2. A three-stage fluid pump for fire fighting vehicles comprising aT-shaped pump housing having diametrically opposite intak and dischargeconnections forming the cross of the T, a first-stage impeller, asecond-stage impeller in said housing, a discharge manifold for saidfirst and second-stage impellers, passages leading from the dischargemanifold to the discharge connections, a pump shaft for said impellersJournaled in the stem of the T, -a third-stage impeller driven by saidpump shaft and mounted at the base of the T, a housing for saidthirdstage impeller, an intake for" said housing, and a fluid passagefrom the first and second-stage discharge manifold to said intake forthe thirdstage impeller.

3 said pump shaft and mounted. at the base of the 3. A three-stagefluid. pump for flre fighting vehicles comprising a T-shaped pumphousing having diametrically opposite intake and discharge connectionsforming the crossof the .T, a first-stage impeller, a second-stageimpeller in said housing, means for operating the first and second-stageimpellers selectively in series or in parallel, a discharge manifold forsaid first and second-stage impellers, passages leading from thedischarge manifold to the discharge connections, a pump shaft for saidimpellers journaled in the stem of the T, a third-stage impeller drivenby T, a housing for said third-stage impeller, an intake for saidhousing, and means for selectively engaging the third-stage impellerwhereby the third-stagemay be selectively operated in series with thefirst and second-stage impellers.

4. A three-stage fluid pump assembly for fire fighting apparatus and thelike, comprising a T- shaped pump housing, a pump shaft mounted in thestem of said housing, gear means for selec- -tive1y driving said shaft,a first-stage impeller mounted on said shaft, a second-stage impellermounted on said shaft, an intake passage for said first impellercomprising approximately half'of the bottom portion of the T housing, anintake passage for the second-stage impeller comprising the other halfof the bottomportion' of the T housing, a discharge passage for thefirst-stage impeller, a discharge passage for the secondstage impeller,a by-pass connecting the firststage discharge passage with thesecond-stage intake passage, a pair of check valves in the second-stageintake passage, a discharge manifold connecting with the dischargepassages of both impellers, a valve for selectively directing flow fromthe first stage to the discharge manifold or to the second-stage intakepassage, an intake con nection at each end of the cross of-the T, saidintake connection communicating with both intake passages, a pluralityof discharge connections communicating with said discharge manifold, athird-stage pump connected to the housing at the base of the stem, aclutch between the pump shaft and the third pump stage, a fluidconnection between the discharge manifold and the third-stage, and arelief valve between the discharge manifold and the intake passages.

5. A series-parallel fluid pump assembly for fire fiighting apparatusand the like comprising a T-shaped pump housing, a pump shaft mounted inthe stem of said housing, gear means for selectively driving said shaft,a first-stage impeller mounted on said shaft, a second stage impellermounted on said shaft, an intake passage for said first stage impeller,an intake passage for the second stage impeller, said intake passagescomprising the bottom portion of the T housing, a discharge passage forthe first stage impeller, a discharge passage for the second stageimpeller,

said discharge passages comprising the top portion of the 'I housing, aby-pass connecting the first stage discharge passage with the secondstage intake passage, a pair of check valves in the second stage intakepassage, a valve for opening and closing said by-pass, a dischargemanifold connecting with the discharge passages from both impellers andforming a part of the top portion of the T housing at one end of the Tcross, a discharge conduit also forming a part of the top 1 portion ofthe T housing and leading from the E? end of the 1 cross, at least onedischarge connection for said discharge conduit located at the end ofthe l cross opposite the discharge manicharge passage for the firstimpeller, a discharge passage for the second impeller, a dischargemanifold connecting with the discharge passages from both impellers, anintake connection at each end of the housing, said intake connectioncommunicating with both intake passages, a plurality of I dischargeconnections communicatin with said discharge manifold, a booster pumpconnected to the housing, a clutch between the pump shaft and thebooster stage, and a series fluid connection between the dischargemanifold and the booster pump.

7. A pump assembly in accordance with claim 6, in which the dischargemanifold is located over the extremity of one of said intake passages, a

pair of discharge valves connected to said manifold, a discharge passageextending from the manifold to the opposite end of said housing, and adischarge valve for said passage.

8. A compact three-stage selective pump for fire fighting apparatus,comprising a T-shaped pump housing, a pump shaft journaled in the stemof said housing, a gear box connected to said vhousing and extendingdownwardly therefrom,

gear means for selectively engaging the pump sh with the drive shaft insaid gear box, a

' Number Name Date 7 2,037,775 Fox Apr. 21, 1936 2,223,592 Barton et a1Dec. 3, 1940 hearing for the drive shaft at the base of said T-housing,a removable mounting for said hearing, a hub attached to the end of thepump shaft, a bearing carried by said hub, an auxiliary housing mountedat the base of the T-housing, a second pump shaft in said auxiliaryhousing jour naled in the bearing in the hub and in axial alignment withthe main pump shaft, a clutch operatively connecting thehub and thesecond pump shaft, means for engaging and disengaging said clutch, animpeller at the opposite end of said second pump shaft, and a fluidpassage adapted to admit fluid to said impeller.

9. In a series-parallel centrifugal pump, a casing forming thefoundation of thepump structure and containing a pair of axially alignedand separate impeller chambers together with a pair of substantiallyparallel and adioining suction passages, each extending inwardly fromboth of the opposite ends of said casing, a main pump shaft journaled insaid casing, a pair of impellers mounted on said pump shaft androtatable in said chambers, a booster pump mounted on said casing, apump shaft for said booster pump in axial alignment with said main pumpshaft, and a clutch for selectively driving said booster pump shaft fromsaid main pump shaft.

HAROLD W. YOCUM.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

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